Eli Rogers

Eli Rogers
Eli Lamar Rogers (born December 23, 1992) is an American football wide receiver for the Orlando Guardians of the XFL. He played college football for the Louisville Cardinals. He was signed by the Pittsburgh Steelers as an undrafted free agent in 2015.
High school career
Rogers played for head coach Billy Rolle at Northwestern High School. Among his teammates was future Steelers teammate Artie Burns. He joined teammates Teddy Bridgewater, Amari Cooper, Michaelee Harris, Corvin Lamb, and Jermaine Reve when he played in the Under Armour all-American Game. A four-star prospect by Rivals.com and rated as the No. 35 wide receiver, Rogers recorded 59 receptions for 691 receiving yards with three scores as a senior despite being injured for two games.
College career
As a freshman at the University of Louisville in 2011, Rogers played for the Louisville Cardinals. On October 15, Rogers recorded the Cardinals' longest reception, 58 yards against the Cincinnati Bearcats at Paul Brown Stadium, but lost the game, 25–16. Rogers had a productive season that led the Louisville Cardinals to the 2011 Belk Bowl, but the team lost against the NC State Wolfpack, 31–24. Rogers finished third in school history in receptions and sixth in receiving yards. Rogers finished the season with 454 receiving yards, 41 receptions, 1 touchdown. He had 7 receptions and eight punt returns for 54 yards in the 2013 Belk Bowl.
In 2012, Rogers finished second on the team with 46 receptions and third with 505 receiving yards and 4 touchdowns. He also had a career-high 10 receptions against Syracuse. In the Sugar Bowl he had 4 catches for 61 yards in a win over Florida.
As a junior in 2013, Rogers played in all 13 games with one start. He finished third on the team with 44 receptions and 536 receiving yards. He also tied his career-high of 10 receptions in a game against UCF and his career-high of 4 receiving touchdowns during the season. He led the Cardinals to the 2013 Russell Athletic Bowl, winning 36–9 over the Miami Hurricanes.
During his senior year in 2014, Rogers saw action in all 13 games and had 45 receptions, 525 receiving yards and 3 receiving touchdowns. He also had a career-high 112 punt return yards.
Professional career
Pre-draft
Coming out of Louisville, Rogers was projected to go undrafted in the 2015 NFL Draft and was not a highly sought after undrafted free agent. He also did not receive an invitation to the NFL Combine. On March 11, 2015, he participated at Louisville's pro day and performed all of the required combine and positional drills for team representatives and scouts. Representatives from all 32 NFL teams were present, including New England Patriots' head coach Bill Belichick, Pittsburgh Steelers' head coach Mike Tomlin, Cincinnati Bengals' head coach Marvin Lewis, and Pittsburgh Steelers' general manager Kevin Colbert to scout Rogers, DeVante Parker, Jamon Brown, Gerald Christian, Gerod Holliman, and 17 other prospects. He was ranked as the 132nd-best wide receiver prospect available in the draft by NFLDraftScout.com.
2015
Rogers signed a three-year contract worth $1.575 million as an undrafted free agent with the Pittsburgh Steelers. He spent the entire 2015 season on injured reserve.
2016
Rogers entered training camp in competing with Cobi Hamilton, Demarcus Ayers, and Marcus Tucker to be the Steelers' fifth wide receiver. The Steelers named Rogers their fifth wide receiver to begin the season.
He earned his first career start in the season opener after Markus Wheaton was unable to play due to a shoulder injury. He finished the 38–16 victory against the Washington Redskins with six receptions for 59 yards and a touchdown. Rogers' first career touchdown reception came on a three-yard pass from Ben Roethlisberger.
During a Week 9 contest against the Baltimore Ravens, he led the Steelers in receiving yards after making six catches for a career-high 103 yards. The following week, Rogers started his fourth game of the season and caught four passes for 42 yards and a touchdown during a 35–30 loss to the Dallas Cowboys. On December 28, 2016, he made five receptions for 75 yards and caught the go-ahead touchdown on a 24-yard pass from Roethlisberger with less than 3:30 left in the game to help the Steelers defeat the Cincinnati Bengals 24–20. Rogers finished his first active season with 48 receptions for 594 yards and three touchdowns in 13 games and eight starts. His 72.7% catch rate ranked tenth among all NFL wide receivers in 2016.
2017
With a crowded position at wide receiver in , Rogers entered training camp competing with Sammie Coates, JuJu Smith-Schuster, Cobi Hamilton, Darrius Heyward-Bey, Justin Hunter, and Demarcus Ayers for a job as a backup wide receiver. He was able to impress team officials enough to be named the Steelers' fourth wide receiver to begin the regular season, behind Antonio Brown, Martavis Bryant, and Heyward-Bey.
He earned his first start of the season as the Steelers' slot receiver during a 21–18 season-opening victory over the Cleveland Browns, finishing with two receptions for 11 yards. The following game, Rogers caught four passes for 43 yards in a 26–9 victory over the Minnesota Vikings. Rogers was a healthy scratch for Weeks 3 and 4, with the Steelers choosing to play Smith-Schuster and Hunter. He finished the season with 18 receptions for 149 yards and one touchdown. In the divisional round of the playoffs against the Jacksonville Jaguars, Rogers suffered a torn ACL, causing the Steelers to not tender him a contract, as he was set to be a restricted free agent in 2018.
2018
On July 25, 2018, after visits with the Chiefs and Browns, Rogers re-signed with the Steelers on a one-year deal. He was suspended the first game of the 2018 season for violating the NFL Policy and Program for Substances of Abuse. On September 1, 2018, he was placed on the physically unable to perform list to start the season while recovering from the torn ACL. He was activated off PUP on December 15, 2018. He recorded 20 yards on 4 receptions in his first game back against the New England Patriots and finished the season with 12 receptions for 57 yards in three games.
2019
On March 14, 2019, Rogers signed a two-year contract extension with the Steelers. He was released on August 31, 2019.
DC Defenders
On November 22, 2019, Rogers was drafted by the DC Defenders in the 2020 XFL Supplemental Draft. In his first game with the Defenders, Rogers hauled in 6 passes for 73 yards in the 31–19 win against the Seattle Dragons. On February 15, 2020, Rogers played in a week two game for the Defenders, which took place during his mother's funeral. She had passed away earlier in the week. He had his contract terminated when the league suspended operations on April 10, 2020.
Montreal Alouettes
Rogers signed with the Montreal Alouettes of the CFL on January 22, 2021.
Tampa Bay Bandits
Rogers was selected in the 13th round of the 2022 USFL draft by the Tampa Bay Bandits. He was placed on the reserved list on April 1, 2022.
Orlando Guardians
The Orlando Guardians selected Rogers in the first round of the 2023 XFL Supplemental Draft on January 1, 2023.
References
External links
Louisville Cardinals football bio
Living people
1992 births
Players of American football from Miami
American football return specialists
American football wide receivers
Louisville Cardinals football players
Miami Northwestern Senior High School alumni
Pittsburgh Steelers players
DC Defenders players
Montreal Alouettes players
Players of Canadian football from Miami
Tampa Bay Bandits (2022) players
Orlando Guardians players